When to sharpen wood chipper blades? A wood chipper is a machine that is used to shred wood into small pieces. The blades are responsible for the shredding.
Sharpen the blades regularly to maintain a high-quality and efficient process. The blades of a wood chipper are responsible for the shredding of wood. To maintain the high-quality and efficient process of the machine, sharpen the blades regularly. Interested about it? Read this article until end about when to sharpen wood chipper blades. In this blog, we also have an article about best tazz chipper shredder that you might want to read about it.
When To Sharpen Wood Chipper Blades
After twenty-five hours of usage, some manufacturers suggest honing or replacing your chipper blades. Chipper blades should be sharpened at least once a year, according to some experts.
It’s time to give your blades some care when your wood chips start to come out ragged, uneven, and shredded.
You should always check your chipper blades and knives before each usage as part of safe operation. They should be sharpened or replaced if they seem worn or cracked.
Chipper blades and knives may be replaced and sharpened in the following methods.
To sharpen or replace your chipper blades, you’ll need to remove the old ones from the rotor assembly.
Be aware that these instructions are only broad guidelines. Before using your chipper for the first time, it’s always a good idea to review the product instructions.
In addition, these methods are meant for chippers that may be used by the general public. Commercial-grade chippers are bigger and have more functions, so what you read here may not apply to those machines at your workplace.
Don’t be put off by the thought of large machinery, however. Changing the blades on your consumer or prosumer chipper is as simple as following a few basic steps, even though we highly advocate doing it with a partner.
How Often to Sharpen Wood Chipper Blades?
Sharpening wood chipper blades every 25 to 50 hours of use is a good rule of thumb. However, if one of the situations listed below exists, you may need to sharpen your blades sooner.
What is the life expectancy of wood chipper blades?
A single-sided woodchipper blade may typically last 25 to 50 hours between sharpenings and can be sharpened three times for a total lifetime of 75 to 150 hours.
A double-sided wood chipper blade has double the longevity of a single-sided blade, lasting between 150 and 300 hours.
Factors Influencing Blade Lifespan
- Material type that was chipped
- Debris going into the hopper
- The blade’s hardness and thickness
- Maintenance of the blades
Importance of Precision Sharpening
A widespread misconception is that wood chipper blades may be sharpened properly without the use of precise equipment. Sharpening knives using a hand sharpening tool, bench grinder, or local general machine shop generates several discrepancies on the cutting edge and resulting in varied geometries.
There is a gap between the anvil (bed) and the knife in the wood chipper. This spacing must be maintained from edge to edge throughout the length of the knife. When a knife is not precisely sharpened, material is driven through certain places on the blade, the knife wears unevenly, and the wood chipper generates irregular chips.
Furthermore, a seated wood chipper knife must maintain a precise degree of squareness and flatness; any variation outside of the prescribed tolerances may disrupt the knife’s balance. When the knife’s balance is wrong, just a part of the blade may come into contact with the wood. Sharpening complete knife sets, rather of just one or two blades, ensures that these tolerances are maintained throughout the process.
Wood chipper blades are made to exact tolerances depending on the requirements of the wood chipper, cutting material, and knife manufacturer. To ensure maximum wood chipper performance, these tight tolerances must be maintained to within five to ten thousandths of an inch. Tolerances this close are difficult to maintain without the use of precision sharpening equipment.
When blade tolerances are not maintained, the wood chipper engine is put under unnecessary strain. The blades of the wood chipper revolve at high speeds, ranging from 500 to 1000 RPM. When knife tolerances are not maintained, more stress is placed on the rotor, belts, motor, and housing, resulting in early failures, wear, and greater machine downtime. In severe situations, the wood chipper may fall to the ground, or the blades may get unseated and pierce the housing. When a wood chipper fails, the consequences may vary from severe equipment damage to the death or serious injury of operators and other personnel nearby.
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